Country women get frocked up for fun in the name of art

Shirley Flynn is thrilled with her makeover for the Hunting for Foxes project

Natalija Brunovs

"I was well and truly out of my comfort zone."

On an ordinary afternoon, Shirley Flynn, 78, would usually be tending to house chores or working for a country committee.

But one afternoon last month the grandmother of five traded in her house clothes for a full length gown.

"I love dressing up but when you're on a farm and working and town doesn't have anything like that that you can get dressed up for, you don't get much of a chance," she said.

The former nurse, who lives on a remote farm south-east of Mullewa, said the last time she had her make-up and hair professionally done was on her wedding day.

"So to do something way out of your usual way of life, I just thought it was great fun," she said.

Mrs Flynn was modelling for a country photography project called 'Hunting for Foxes'.

For one day, women living in or near the small Mid West town of Mullewa had access to a professional photographer, makeup artist, hair stylist and artistic director to create a personalised photo shoot.

The project's coordinator Rachel McKenzie said the concept for the project arose during a meeting with the town's art development group.

"We'd got a really distinct impression that city folk didn't think that their country cousins were very cultured or sophisticated," she said.

"We were talking about the fact that that's not necessarily true, it's because of where we live we don't get the chance to express other sides of ourselves."

Ms McKenzie, who is also the coordinator of Community Cultural Development at the City of Greater Geraldton, said a limitation-free photo shoot seemed like the perfect solution for country gals.

"It's giving the ladies an opportunity to express an alter-ego or a side of themselves that they don't get to express because they live on the land," she said.

"Or they can just create a fantasy alternative reality for themselves."

A usually reserved Liz Bradshaw, 25, took the plunge and volunteered to model as a sultry burlesque dancer.

"It was so far out of my comfort zone I thought: Why not?" she said.

"Burlesque is so secret, it's sexy and it's dark... so many things that are so far from my world.

"And just the chance to wear something really glamorous and get made up was amazing."

The health promotions officer, who is also the state's newly-titled Rural Ambassador of the Year, hopes the project dispels the myth that country women are unaspiring, flannelette-donning creatures.

"For people from Mullewa to be involved in such a fantastic project that embraces every woman that lives here is the most wonderful thing," Ms Bradshaw said.

"And challenging the stereotypes of the people that live out here, to have the opportunity to do that, is awesome."

Ms Bradshaw says the project allowed women to explore a side of themselves they may never otherwise be able to.

"I think the fact that the project's been embraced so well really shows that we were craving something like this for a long time," she said.

Constable Casey Patten from the Mullewa Police Station says even she could not resist the opportunity to dress up as her alter-ego; a 50s housewife.

"It was really fun to just let loose in front of the camera and dress up like something you don't normally have a chance to, but have always wanted to," she said.

"There's not much of an opportunity to dress up in this sort of sense and that's what we were trying to get across.

"We're not all about being country bumpkins or farmer's wives, we're trying to get out and be glamorous and show that we can be feminine."

Unique expression

In one photo shoot, a woman whose family was too poor to buy her dolls as a child, sat happily dressed in fine laces at a tea party surrounded with an array of china dolls.

"Some people have gone really deep with it, have had some personal messages about where their life hasn't gone and where maybe it could of," Ms McKenzie said.

"Others have just gone and had fun with it, while others are pushing their own boundaries.

"And it's not about not being happy with the life that you've got; it's about testing that little fantasy of testing something else out."

Alison Bartlett is a professor of gender studies at the University of Western Australia.

She says along with a lot of fun, the photo shoots are helping to challenge the validity of sterotypes.

"There is that generalised stereotype that dichotomises urban and rural women as being sophisticated versus unsophisticated," Professor Bartlett said.

"I guess there's a sense of undervaluing them in contrast to ideas of urban population being generally more educated and wealthy and cultured; there's that aspect of culture that adds a value and a currency to people's identities and lives.

"So I guess in terms of countering that, this is a really fantastic project that enables women to create beautiful images of other sides of themselves and their rich innermost selves as well, is really important."

The photos will eventually be displayed in an exhibition.

Rachel McKenzie says an exhibition date has not been set yet because of the overwhelming number of women who continue to sign up.

Ms McKenzie says it would be great to see the project rolled out in towns across the state.

"Because I think it's just invigorated the women here, it's just added to what they have here."